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Reviews
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986)
Great acting in a great movie
It was probably watching this TV movie that got me interested in the debate as to whether "Anna" was really Tsar Nicholas's daughter Anastasia. Since seeing it I have made a point of watching various documentaries and also bought a book. Despite the evidence that has been discovered since the film was released, I sometimes still think she was. Such is the power of Amy Irving's acting in this 2-parter which is somewhat liberal with the historical facts, but packed to the brim with tear-jerking drama and Irving's totally convincing performance.
I was not consciously aware of Irving before this, though I must have seen her without realizing it in "Carrie" (another favourite film). In "Anasasia", I never felt for one moment that "it's only a film". For me this woman WAS Anastasia, and when part one ended with her in the railway carriage meeting members of the royal family, I knew that come hell or high water I had to see the second part. I just wanted to see how she would prove that she was who she claimed to be, and as the story progressed I felt an intense hatred of Rex Harrison's character, though I greatly admire him as an actor.
When I saw the movie listed again in the TV guide, I convinced my Mother that we should watch it, and afterward she thanked me for doing so, being almost as keen as I had been to watch part 2. Then I bought the video and can totally recommend it. "Anastasia" is one of those rare TV movies that you simply must watch for the sheer enjoyment of watching the finest acting I have ever seen on TV, and it doesn't really matter whether you believe the legend or not.
Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase (1990)
Another perspective
I think this is a really good film for Shelley to have done because it shows that she is a much better actor than she got to show in "Cheers". Pretending to be a different kind of person than you are in real life is good acting, and convincingly playing several different kinds of people in one film is great acting. It is true that the medical condition isn't examined as a medical condition but in my opinion that is not the point if making this film - it was just to give the viewer a feeling of what having multiple personalities does to the subject's family and friends, and in my case it succeeded in that endeavour.
When I saw this film I had never seen an episode of "Cheers", and had never heard of Shelley Long, so all I saw was a great actor who for long periods of a rollercoaster story made me believe that it was all real. I loved the salesperson who could almost literally sell anything to anybody, and I especially loved the plate smashing scene. In my experience only a few other TV films are anywhere near as good as this one, the only one that springs to mind being the Amy Irving version of "Anastasia".